UN Humanitarian and Development Chiefs’ Mission to Somalia

Photo: UNDP Somalia

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and United Nations Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner will travel to Somalia on January 30 to highlight the immense challenge of persistent food insecurity and the new approach to addressing it. This trip forms part of their joint mission to Ethiopia on the same issue.

Somalia averted a famine last year when the Government and partners heeded early warning reports and ramped up the response. But the drought and ongoing conflict, coupled with the resultant displacement of a million people last year, has left 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The UN principals will highlight the need to continue life-saving humanitarian assistance as an urgent priority, while simultaneously addressing the root causes of Somalia’s recurring humanitarian crises and encouraging investment in the untapped potential of the country.

They will also meet with senior Government officials, humanitarian and development partners.